Lock or clamp for guy wire guards



Aug. 28, 1934.

J. vBLACKBURN LOCK OR CLAMP FOR GUY WIRE GUARDS Filed April 21. 1932 lvl llll i y u Z INVENTOR.

B @w g.

A TTORNE Y.

Still another Objectis to provide a form of lock` Patented Aug. 28, 1934 UNITED srnrss PATIENT cerros This invention relates to locks or clamps for guy wire guards as conventionally employed for the purpose of xedly mountinga guard upon a guy wire or strand extendedfrom the anchor rod of a ground anchor for supporting a telephone. pole or the like in an upright position. Various forms of such guards and their uses and purposes are well known in the arts wherein they` are used.

It is the prime purpose of thetpresent invention to provide a relatively simple, strong and efficient form of lock or clamp -of the kind referred to, the same comprising a minimum number of parts.

Another purpose is to provide such lock having its component parts or elements arranged in a unitary assembly in such a Way that the elements of the locks may be constructed, assembled and mounted within the guards at the factory, and the said guards later mounted upon the guy wires by a workman, without the necessity of disassembling or disassociating any of the elements of the lock for that purposa'whereby accidental loss of parts is prevented, and the work is facilitated.

Another object` is to providea form of lock of the kind referred to, consisting of 'a block adapted for connecting a guy wire guard and guy wire, the said block having a devious, curved, tortuous, angular, flexed, bent,jcrooked or'swerv ing passage or cable-way, or an otherwise irregularly extended opening or cable-way leading from its central portion outthrough a margin of the block, the,` cable-way beingl soi` extended, and the irregularity or angularity thereof being such as to provide a laterally `offset ledge forming a cable pocket `0r seat at the inner iend of the cable-way, within which the guywre, guy strand, cable-or anchorrod may be` seated, with means for releasably lockingfthe guy wire or the like into its of the, kind described, consisting of a block for engaging at its `outer margins a guy wire guard, and having an irregularly, extended passage or cable-way leading into the interior of the block through ,one margin, the said cable-way including at` its inner endan offset extension thermar.-

` gins` whereof constitute a cable seat or pocket and a set screw passed through a portionl of the block in such a way that the inner end thereof will have `a bearing upon the guy wireY to releasably` lock it in its seat and so thatit will not be necessary to entirely remove said set screw `from said block for the purpose of inserting or removing the said guy wire. 4 i

With these and such other objects and purposes in View as may be developed in the following specication, attention is now directed tc the .accom-` panying drawing constituting a part of the specication and embodying several preferred forms or modifications of my invention,` wherein Figure 1` is an elevation of one form or embodiment` of my invention as mounted within a guy wire guard, showing an anchor rod releasably locked in its seat, the said rod and guard being shown in section.

Figure 2 is a medial section through the form of lock shown in Figure 1, thereV being shown a guy wire or cable releasably locked in its seat, the said cable and guard being shown in section.

` Figure 3 is a medial section through a modified form of lock, the guy wire engaged thereby and the guard within which it is mounted being shown in section. Y

Figure 4 is a-medial section through another modified form of lock as employed for connecting a guy wire` and guard, the two latter being also shown in section.

Figure 5 `is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure l, the guard and guy wire being represented as broken away at each'side of the lock.

As represented in thedrawing, my invention comprises a nat block l of any suitable material, such as cast iron, the sides 2 thereof being extended preferably in parallel relation, though this is not essential, and the outer margins 3 thereof being formed most suitably to meet and connect with the contiguous surfaces of the guard 4 mounted upon it. As shown in the several embodimentshere presented, the blocks arecircular in` form so as to t neatly within the conventional tubular form of guard represented in the drawing, but Ainasmuch as my invention is concerned more especially with the central portion of the block, it is apparent that the outer margins thereof` may be shaped as maybe desired `for the-purpose of accommodating it to any other form of guard. One essential feature of my inf vention consists in forming a tortuous, angular, curved, bent, swerving, devious, flexed, or otherwise irregular passage orcableway 5 in the block l, the said cable-way as here shown comprising a mouth 6 opening out through one margin of the block, a lateral bend7 trending towards one'side or lmargin of the ,block and then a sharp return bend 8 directed towards the opposite margin of Vthe block in aline of direction subtantially per-V of the cable-way are all connected, of course, so

ice

as to form a continuous tortuous or curved channel from the mouth into the central portion of the block where the channel ends in a laterally offset cable pocket or seat 9.

Inasmuch as the block 1 is designed to be seated within the guard 4 with the mouth 6 of the cable-way turned downward, for mounting upon the guy wire or rod 10, it is apparent that the bend or .branch 8 of the cable-way will extend in a substantially horizontal direction, and that the curvature of the margins of the cable-way will form a sort of laterally extended protruding ledge 11 centrally of the bloclr and oppositely to the mouth 6 of the cable-Way, the upper horizontally extended margin 12 of which ledge constitutes the lower margin or wall of the cable pocket 9,

and opposed to this there is, of course, the lower horizontally extended margin 13 of the block niaterial, the same constituting the upper .marginv or wall of the pocket 9. These margins are connected by the substantially vertically extended margin 14 of the block material, the same constituting the inner Vertical margin or wall of the pocket 9. While these margins are spoken of. as being extended horizontally or vertically, this does not mean that they necessarily follow straight lines, but they may be curved orarcuate, and the margins may be further indented as shown at 15 as means for providing a snugger seat for the rod or guy wire 10 for gripping same against displacement.

The provision of the laterally oiset cable seat or Vpocket 9 and the protruding ledge 11, in ymanner-pointed out, enables the locking of the guy wire or rod 10 at any one of three different positions within the said pocket, and also .enables the locking element, such as the set screw 16, to have its inner end placed in locking or clamping engagement with the guy wire or rod lo from any one of three different directions. An additional and most important feature and advantage of the arrangement is that the set screw 16need never be entirely removed from the block in the use and operation of the lock, whereby the work of installation is expedited and danger of -loss of the set screw is avoided. These matters will now be developed in detail. As shown in .Figures 1 and 2, the rod or guy wire 10 is seated at the lower side of the pocket 9 and is locked in place by passing the set screw 16 vertically down through the threaded bore 17 which is here shown as formed through the upper portion of the block 1, the outer end 18 of the bore being enlarged and not threaded for engaging the screw head 19, and there being an aligned aperture 20 formed through the guard 4 to enable the seating of the screw. The inner end of the set screw may thus be brought to bear directly down upon the rod or guy wire 10 and firmly locks it in place. Or, if desired,`ay stirrup 21 may be slidably mounted above the 'guy wire as a bearing for the end of the screw, the-ends 22 of the stirr'up being turned inwardly and slidably seated within vertically extended recesses 23 formed in the sides of the block. This is a conventional feature, however, and does not constitute part of the present invention. As shown in Figure 3, the position of the guy wire 10 is reversed, the same being seated at the upper side of the pocket 9, where it is lockedl by passing the set'screw 16a up through thethreadecl bore 17a which is here shown as formed vertically up through the ledge 11. In this structure, the ledge 11 is enlarged so as to afford a sufcient bearing for the screw which is passed up through the mouth 6 of the cable-way. This arrangement avoids the necessity of puncturing the wall of the guard 4. Here, too, the screw 16a is shown provided with a squared socket 24a in lieu of the usual screw kerf 24 as represented in Figure 2. Thus any square ended tool (not shown) may be inserted up through the mouth of the cable-way for turning up the screw. As shown in Figure ll, the position of the rod or guy wire 10 is shiited to the end 1e of the pocket 9, where it is locked in place by passing the set screw 1Gb horizontally through a laterally positioned and threaded bore 17D, the outer end thereof being also enlarged shown at 181; for receiving the head 19h and the guard being apertured as shown at 20h.

As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the preferable location for the cable seat 9 is at a point well inwardly of the block l, so that the wail 13 thereof will lie above the center of gravity when the block is normally positioned upon the guy wire, whereby it will hang downwardly and the mouth 6 of the cableway as well as the opening or open side of the attached guard will be turned downward to their preferred positions forY preventing entrance of dirt or water. to the interior of the assembly.

It will be noted that whichever position the guy wire occupies within the offset pocket 9, it may, by virtue of the structural features of the block and cable-way as above described, be directly pressed and locked in such position by a set screw passed through a threaded bore formed through an oppositely positioned portion of the block in direct axial alignment with the guy wire.

YIt will further be noted that in the use of such a lock or clamp, the set screw, however located, always remain in threaded connection with the block in the process or operation of mounting a guard upon a guy wire or anchor rod or the like. It is thought that from the foregoing description, the use,'operation and advantages of the lock or clamp in its generic and specific aspects will be fully understood. In use, the required number of the locks or clamps are mounted in spaced relation within the guard, and are anchored in place therein `in any conventional manner.

While I have herein set forth and described certain specific forms of my invention, it will be noted that they all conform to certain generic principlesV while varying in structural details. Likewise, it is understood that I may further vary such structural details, without departing from the spirit of my invention, as defined in the appended claims;

I claim:

1; A clamp of the kind described, comprising in combination a block for connecting to a guard, the said block having a passage-way cutting its opposite faces and entering thru one margin to the interior of the block, the passage-way ending in a cable seat, the course of the passage-way bending and sw'erving in such manner as to form a protruding ledge between the cable seat and the entering mouth of the passage way, there being a threaded bore formed thru the said ledge in axial alignment with the said cable seat and said mouth, anda set screw inserted in said bore, the said set screw being insertable thru said mouth.

2. -In combination, a guy wire, a block having a cable-way opening out through one margin and thereby' positioned upon the wire, the cable-way including a mouth portion leading substantially into the block and a bend extended laterally from the mouth portion and ending in a seat within which the wire is located, the seat being positioned beyond the gravity center. of the block oppositely to the mouth of the cable-way, whereby the mouth is held to a downward position by gravity as the block hangs upon the wire.

3. In combination, a guy wire, a block having a cable-way opening out thro-ugh one margin and thereby positioned upon the wire, the cable-way including a mouth portion leading substantially into the block and a bend'extended laterally from the mouth portion and ending in a seat within which the wire is located, the seat being positioned beyond the gravity center of the block oppositely to the mouth of the cable-way, whereby the mouth is held to a downward position by gravity as the block hangs upon the wire, and a guard mounted upon-the said block and disposed along the said wire.

4. In combination, a block having a cable-way opening out through one margin and including a mouth portion leading substantially into the bloei: and a portion laterally extended from the mouth portion and ending in a cable-seat, the` seat being positioned inwardly from the mouth portion beyond the gravity center of the block, a guy wire seated within the cable seat of the block, and means for locking the wire to its seat, the said locking means when operatively positioned, lying entirely Within a peripheral line dening the outer margins of the block.

5. In a clamp for mounting a guard upon a guy wire, a block having a cable-way opening out through one margin for the reception of the Wire, the cable-way including a mouth portion leading substantially into the block and a bend extended laterally into the block from the mouth portion and forming an offset seat for the wire, this seat being spaced from the mouth of the cable-way beyond the gravity center of the block whereby Y the mouth portion of the block will normally turn downward through gravity, and means for looking the wire into its seat, the said looking means, when operatively positioned against the wire, lying entirely within a peripheral line defining the outermost portions of the block.

JASPER BLACKBURN. 

